Aprll 19, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back from San Miguel de Allende. Me-he-co.<\/strong><\/p>\n

$\"Confessions$ <\/strong><\/p>\n

Back to the same ol\u2019, same ol\u2019. LA, California. Going on 40 years now!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like most trips, upon your inevitable return, why does it always seem \u2013 so\u00a0<\/strong>exactly the same? Like you were never gone at all? Whether it was nine days or ten, like this trip, or two, three, or sometimes even eight months, like others, when you come \u201chome\u201d, it\u2019s almost always like \u2013 you were never away. Everything is so familiar. Nothing has changed \u2013 no matter how rich, how challenging, how eventful, how life-changing, your adventure was.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This trip, with my Indonesian-born family, Surya, my wife, and Exsel, my son, who spent his, I hope memorable, 15th birthday in San Miguel, was far different than the first time I came in 1997, arriving first with my 21-year-old Chicano-American \u201cmentee\u201d, Alejandro, from LA\u2019s Pico Union barrio, right near where I taught at USC for thirty-one years in South-Central, Los Angeles. Back then in 1997, SMA was still a low-profile but quickly-growing international ex-pat community mixed with a deeply traditional, local Catholic Mexican one, attracting countless American painters, musicians, and Vietnam vets, but still nothing compared to what it has become today, in terms of wealth, investment, real estate development, and the now exploding and well-heeled, both young parent and ever-expanding international retirement community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

$\"Confessions$ <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet gratifyingly and ever-wonderfully, behind every plain or beautifully and ornately-carved wooden door, still lies an unforeseen courtyard \u2013 opening to an architectural secret \u2013 of a three hundred year-old local home \u2013 still owned by the original family, who has quite profitably turned it into a perfectly-appointed Airbnb, where we, in fact, stayed economically and in gracious comfort, more than a couple of times. Or, equally likely, the home and courtyard have been purchased by a foreign investor who has gracefully turned it into a high-end restaurant, delicious bakery, lamp shop, spa, jewelry shop, or\u2026. another gallery, gallery, gallery! There just seem to be so many artists and galleries in SMA, I wonder how they all survive.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And all this\u2026 amidst a city full of 400-year-old, Spanish-colonial Catholic churches, large and small, each with their humble and devout parishioners, each with their daily masses and religious ceremonies, bright and colorful Mexicano rituals, their\u00a0tortillas, churros,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0enchiladas<\/em>, and their bells, bells, bells, ringing day and night, along their cobblestone streets and adobe-painted walls of yellow, brown, and burnt sienna.<\/strong><\/p>\n

$\"Confessions$ <\/strong><\/p>\n

Then, just walk any night into the center of the town, into the main square in front of the shining church, the golden-lit, Baroque-Mexican jewel, \u201cLa Parroquia\u201d. Sit on any one of the many wrought iron benches there, amongst the locals and tourists alike. You will be welcome. There will be no panhandlers or homeless to disturb your peace of mind. Tell me then, if your heart and spirit do not reach up to the sky above, and beyond\u2026 to whatever God you believe in. To whatever connects you to the rest of the planet, to the rest of humanity, and to infinity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"La — \u201cLa Parroquia\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
**This was San Miguel de Allende in 1997, and is still, in 2022.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n**
But as familiar as San Miguel is to itself over these last twenty-five years, it\u2019s exactly this familiarity\u2026 that makes me notice\u2026 how much\u00a0I\u2019ve changed<\/em>\u00a0over the same quarter century. How I\u2019ve aged\u2026 become a more careful and timid traveler. No longer \u2013 the carefree and footloose bachelor \u201cmendicant poet\u201d, as Spalding Gray, once called himself, in his infamous \u201cSwimming to Cambodia\u201d monologue. How I\u2019m no longer the vagrant\/tramp\/wanderer, improvising my way around the world from town to town, calling \u201chome\u201d wherever I rest my head, as I liked to do throughout my risky and itinerant \u201ce-travels\u201d, all around our beautiful and lonely planet for so many years.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"Confessions$
The \u201cManalu-Trules\u201d en San Miguel de Allende, 2022<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
No, now I\u2019ve been a \u201cfamily man\u201d, ever since I brought Surya here from Indonesia on August 3, 2001, and Exsel here on May 5, 2015. I became a husband on Valentine\u2019s Day, 2003, and a father on July 6, 2016. Two things I never wanted, or expected, to become. I don\u2019t travel alone anymore, I travel as a threesome. And even that\u2019s been severely tested because\u2026 it took Exsel SIX YEARS to get his Green Card\u2026 which meant he couldn\u2019t leave the country safely\u2026 and be guaranteed re-entry\u2026 without \u201cpermanent residency\u201d. In fact, he entered America on a simple \u201ctourist visa\u201d in 2015, which quickly expired after two months, and he was actually an \u201cillegal alien\u201d in the eyes of US immigration (USCIS) for almost all of those same six years, who could have been deported at any time! Turns out that my international \u201crisk-taking\u201d was not with banditos in Mexico or drug smugglers in the poppy fields of the \u201cGolden Triangle\u201d of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, but more with the Department of Homeland Security right in my own back yard.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**There was one exception in late 2018 where I was invited to teach theater in Moscow in the middle of the white Russian winter.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
$\"Trules$ *Trules in Red Square, Moscow, 2018<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n*
I went alone for just about two weeks. I flew the family coup and somehow, they managed just fine without \u201cPak Trules\u201d (silent \u201ck\u201d, that\u2019s what Exsel and Surya call me at home), for a fortnight. I WhatsApp-ed them from the Moscow hotel, and walked through the heavy falling, wet snow, as I tramped around the beautiful city and crossed golden-lit Moskva River, stood in Red Square next to Lenin\u2019s mausoleum, while having no idea at the time, that in 2022, Mr. Putin would march 100,000 Russian troops into my grandparents\u2019 native Ukraine in a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"Guanajuato$
Guanajuato 2022<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
But back to this trip south of the border, and how this one time, vagabond traveler, yours Trulesly, literally found himself tripping over himself, both on his way \u2013 to San Miguel \u2013 and back. That is, tripping \u2013 physically psychologically, and metaphorically. Let me explain\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n
First, I have to let you know\u2026 that even in the past\u2026 that every time, before an international trip\u2026 to \u201cparts unknown\u201d\u2026. I\u2019ve worried and fretted. It\u2019s who I am. I\u2019m a life-long worrier. It comes in the family. My father was also an expert and life-long worrier. The name of his C-47 plane, of which he was sergeant\/mechanic-in-charge during WW2 was \u201cThe Worry Wart\u201d. The name was painted on the side of the fuselage. \u201cWorry Wart\u201d. It meant my father worried about absolutely everything that could go wrong with the plane\u2026 so nothing would\u2026 keeping the crew worry-free\u2026 or at least as much as a crew could be in the middle of a world war.<\/strong><\/p>\n
I inherited the worry gene from my Dad. Along with his nightmares. Every night, I wake up in extreme anxiety. On the verge of annihilation. Destruction Pending doom and disaster. From nightmares as vivid as hell. Then just as quickly, they\u2019re lost and forgotten by morning\u2019s consciousness. Except\u2026 they\u2019re translated into daytime\u2026 worry. \u201cI don\u2019t have enough money to retire on.\u201d \u201cMy son will be deported.\u201d \u201cMy cancer will come back.\u201d \u201cMy wife will leave me.\u201d Translated to travel: \u201cI don\u2019t have the right documents.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll miss my plane.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll get sick over there.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll never get home.\u201d You get the point. I\u2019m a worrier.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Then once I get on the plane\u2026 forgetaboutit. I\u2019m in the flow. I\u2019m Mr. Improvisation. No plans. No worries. \u201cNo reservations\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**So naturally, going to San Miguel, my first international family trip with Exsel and Surya \u2013 all three of us together \u2013 for the first time ever- was a worry ordeal.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And then\u2026 the universe cooperated.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Wedding$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
You see, we were first supposed to go during Exsel\u2019s Christmas break. We had the plane booked, the Airbnbs booked, our friends of friends in Mexico informed, we were ready to go on New Year\u2019s Day, 2022. Then\u2026 on December 24, 2021, Ho Ho Ho!<\/strong><\/p>\n
I test positive for Covid. But, hell\u2026 we\u2019re still going. I\u2019ll just fly back from San Miguel to Tijuana, and Surya will pick me up there \u2013 or I\u2019ll walk across the border and we\u2019ll drive back from San Ysidro, just south of San Diego on the American side of the border.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**But then\u2026 on December 29, Surya also\u2026 tests positive. Happy New Year!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Exsel can\u2019t pick us up in TJ. Or in San Ysidro. We can\u2019t infect our dogsitter with Covid\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We cancel.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And reluctantly, re-schedule for Easter Break. April 7-17.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I worry some more. But I get new house\/dogsitters. I buy new plane tickets, even though I still haven\u2019t gotten the refund from the first cancelled AeroMexico flight.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And then\u2026 like Chicken Little\u2026 I wait for the sky to fall\u2026. again.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**But\u2026. it doesn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n**
**On April 7, .we Uber to LAX, the Los Angeles international airport, and we take off for Mexico City\u2026 on time.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We arrive\u2026 on time.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Mexican$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Then\u2026 we sit on the plane\u2026 before we deboard\u2026 for almost an hour!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We have to take a shuttle bus from the plane to the terminal. We can\u2019t get on the first shuttle, it\u2019s full. We\u2019re held back for the next one.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019m the third person on the empty shuttle. I step up\u2026 and collapse to my knees. I can\u2019t make the step up. My legs are too weak.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019m bending there on the floor of the bus, seemingly praying, on both knees, with my suitcase in front of me and my backpack behind me.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I think I\u2019ve made a \u201ccool move\u201d, by not falling flat on my face and not losing my four front teeth, but Exsel runs up behind me.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201cYou ok, Pak Trules?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**\u201cYeah, I\u2019m fine,\u201d I say, trying to get up.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**He lifts me up by one arm. Other passengers give me a wide berth, front and back. I get up as gracefully as I can, stow my suitcase on the flat rack nearby, and I take a seat.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I say to myself,<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201cI\u2019m rusty. I\u2019m 74 years old. I haven\u2019t traveled in years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
\u201c<\/strong> **$\"Trules$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
The shuttle gets us to the terminal. We race through the Mexico City airport, pulling our trolley carts behind us, with our backpacks bouncing on our backs, only to discover that I\u2019ve lost one of our three boarding passes for the connecting flight to Leon, the closest town to San Miguel de Allende.<\/strong><\/p>\n
I keep taking all three of our passports in and out of my iPad shoulder bag for every electronic airport baggage check we go through. Shoes off, belt off, backpack off. I have a titanium right hip, a metal fused thoracic spine. I keep setting off the sensors every time I go through. I\u2019ve packed laundry soap into a too-large plastic pill container. The TPA inspectors insist on searching my both trolley carry-on and backpack.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Boy, am I rusty!<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**We race to the connecting gate. I lead the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201cHurry up, you guys!\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**Nobody\u2019s there. The gate\u2019s empty.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We\u2019ve missed our flight.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019ve never missed a flight in my life.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Now I have.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I never collapsed into prayer position stepping onto a shuttle bus.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Now I have.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019ve never traveled at 74 years old.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Now I have.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I go to Customer Service and rebook the connecting flight to Leon.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**It\u2019s only two hours later. We\u2019re lucky.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
The only problem is we miss the San Miguel city tour I booked immediately after our Airbnb check in, and our lunch that I booked with John, my first friend of a friend, who was supposed to meet us at La Parroquia\u2019s Jardin right after our\u00a01:30<\/span><\/a>\u00a0tour.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Two strikes against the aging traveler, and we haven\u2019t even gotten to San Miguel. Over-ambitious, man.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Rusty!<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**$\"Garden$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
San Miguel is beautiful. From the minute we check in at our first Airbnb, a traditional, high, red brick-ceilinged, second-floor loft in a beautifully-planted and Mexican art-decorated cobblestone courtyard, with every colorful Mexican-tiled detail and each thoughtful amenity in place, I know \u201cI\u2019m home\u201d. In fact, when I post my first Facebook photos (I admit, I love to share my travels), that\u2019s what my \u201cFriends\u201d say. \u201cYou look right at home.\u201d \u201cWhen are you moving?\u201d \u201cAre you ever coming back to LA?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"Trules$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019d like to answer: \u201cDone deal. We\u2019re not coming back.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
My new SMA friend, John, rents a 1-bedroom here right in the center of town for $300\/month. He knows everything about the town; he\u2019s been here twenty years. After a few years,\u00a0gringos<\/em>\u00a0can get permanent residency, free health care, you don\u2019t need a car, things cost a fraction of what they do in LA. There are bi-lingual, international schools with tons of American, English-speaking kids, everything here has been groomed and honed for an easy ex-pat transition: rental, real estate purchase, health care, child-rearing\u2026 why not just take the leap?<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"The$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
Well, as I said before, I\u2019m a threesome now. There are two other family members to consider, Surya and Exsel. Surya likes her easy ability to get a job in LA. She couldn\u2019t work in a restaurant in San Miguel, she doesn\u2019t speak Spanish. And although she\u2019d jump right in to learn, she\u2019s just \u201cnot ready\u201d to jump across the border right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n
And Exsel? He says, \u201cSure, Pak Trules, move to Mexico. Just wait until I graduate high school.\u201d Meaning\u2026 he likes Eagle Rock High School, and his friends there, right where he is. He doesn\u2019t want to move either.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"Exsel$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
So I have to consciously \u2013 rear my horses \u2013 and stop all my natural urges and instincts \u2013 to interview every\u00a0gringo<\/em>\u00a0I meet \u2013 to grill them on their transition. Their move across\u00a0de border<\/em>. To assemble a working portfolio on all the things I mention above.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**It\u2019s very hard for me to do. To rear myself in. But\u2026 I do.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
And instead, I decide to \u2013 just to enjoy the trip. The visit. We even take another short, two-day jaunt to Guanajuato, a nearby, more Mexican-tourist-friendly town, just about ninety minutes away. Guanajuato is actually the state capital, with the renowned international university, where we stay in another Airbnb loft in a winding back alley in the center of the city, where we are serenaded by a troupe of callejoneada\u00a0<\/em>(student\u00a0mariachis<\/em>), seven times a night, every thirty minutes on the half hour! Very funny and very charming. At least for two nights!<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"Fountain$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
We luxury bus it back to San Miguel for $19 for the three of us, and check into another local family-owned, five star Airbnb. This one is a whole traditional-style San Miguel house, 2 floors, two bedrooms upstairs, well-stocked kitchen, comfortable living room & dining room, wet bar downstairs, hand-painted flower-mural walls, air-con. Two amenity-stocked bathrooms. How much? $60\/night! A three-minute cobblestoned walk to La Parroquia and the town square, all the fancy restaurants, all the local churches, street food, mangos, avocados, liquor stores. Surya gets a facial and massage for $30. Exsel gets the same for his 15^{th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday. Ole!<\/strong><\/p>\n}
**$\"\"$ <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
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Me? I\u2019m tired. My legs hurt all the time. 24\/7. Just like at home. There are no magical elixirs in San Miguel that will change that. I\u2019ve had this neuropathic pain in my knees and shins ever since 2018 that no battery of doctors has been able to diagnose or treat successfully. They all contradict one another, and not one\u2019s treatment has made a dent of difference. It\u2019s been frustrating and chronically painful. The best relief is\u2026 distraction. Engaging my mind elsewhere. So\u2026 this trip is good. Even worry is good. Anything but \u2013 being aware of the pain \u2013 is good.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
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But it\u00a0<\/strong>doesn\u2019t make me much of a hiker or long walker. Sometimes Surya and Exsel have to go exploring on their own.\u00a0No problema.<\/em>\u00a0But I haven\u2019t scheduled many \u201cactivities\u201d for us \u201cto do\u201d once we\u2019ve arrive. For me, that\u2019s okay. I\u2019m perfectly fine soaking up the atmosphere, and taking short walks through the colorful streets. That\u2019s what I travel for \u2013 to be in a different culture. To see and absorb the people, the language, the sights, sounds, smells, food, the music, dancing, the religion. But Surya and Exsel, perhaps they need something more.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**\u201cNext time,\u201d Surya says for the first time ever, \u201cI think I\u2019ll do some of the planning.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
At least, luckily, and unknown to me before we came, we\u2019ve arrived during \u201cSemana Santa\u201d, \u201cThe Week of the Saints\u201d, the holy week of Easter rituals, ceremonies, \u00a0and celebrations. It\u2019s totally wonderful, moving, and amazing. Especially for Surya, who has become a practicing Protestant again of late.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Not only is the whole Catholic city of San Miguel transformed by the story of Mary and Jesus, but thousands of people from all over central Mexico have come flocking into SMA to see and share the week. It begins with \u201cViernes de Dolores<\/em>\u201d, \u201cFriday of Tears\u201d, when the town recreates Mother Mary\u2019s crying for the loss of her Son. And when many many of the private homeowners of San Miguel decorate their homes and open up their courtyards with elaborate religious installations, creating altars to Christ, sometimes with music like Gregorian chant, and offering sweet ices and food treats for as many visitors who want to come. It\u2019s a truly beautiful and memorable day of worship and ceremony. One of a kind in all the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Look at some of the photos:<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Eventually, as all trips, visits, adventures, and mis-adventures do\u2026. our journey to San Miguel must end, and we must return\u2026to LA.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2026which we do\u2026 mostly uneventfully\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2026with no missed connections\u2026 no lost boarding passes\u2026 and no more trips onto shuttle busses.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Although I do still worry as much as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Sombrero$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I realize that \u201cin the end\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201c\u2026the love you take\u2026.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Nope. Wrong song book!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
I realize, that although old Pak Trules may not be quite as sprite and spry on his feet as he once was, and although he (I) may every once and a while\u2026 miss a plane connection\u2026. or fall to my knees in prayer on a connecting shuttle bus at an airport,<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Let\u2019s hope that this is not my last international trip.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Even if I am heading to the hospital in two days for a little surgical procedure to hopefully help out my aching knees and shins,<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And even if\u2026 I have to fly on six legs \u2013 including four of my wife\u2019s and son\u2019s, in addition to the two of my own<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2013 from now on\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Senor$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**May the force (of life) be with you!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**-Senor (South of the Border) Trules<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Exsel$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Special thanks to:<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Jann Lee, my sister, Alison\u2019s, friend, for hosting us in Guanajuato,<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Julieta Sanchez Garduno<\/a>, in San Miguel, our wonderful \u00a0Servas<\/a>\u00a0host<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**John Morrow<\/a>, our bohemian and artful new friend in SMA<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**$\"San$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Go To Trules\u2019 home website\u00a0****HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Visit his Welcome Travel\u00a0PODCAST HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Visit his Travel Blog\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Visit his Personal Blog, \u201cTrules Rules\u201d,\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"**
Sorry, amigos, 1- If you\u2019re getting this story a second time, once previously from another mailing list.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Lo siento.\u00a0(I\u2019m sorry.) If so, please email me back, so I can remove your name one time from this new mailing list. Or if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[65,1178,965],"tags":[1175,669,801,1177,912,1176],"class_list":["post-4170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-etravels","category-mexico-2022-san-miguel-de-allende","category-podcast","tag-guanajuato","tag-mexico","tag-san-miguel-de-allende","tag-semana-santa","tag-travel","tag-viernes-de-dolores"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4170"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4180,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170\/revisions\/4180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

\u201cLa Parroquia\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
**This was San Miguel de Allende in 1997, and is still, in 2022.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n**
But as familiar as San Miguel is to itself over these last twenty-five years, it\u2019s exactly this familiarity\u2026 that makes me notice\u2026 how much\u00a0I\u2019ve changed<\/em>\u00a0over the same quarter century. How I\u2019ve aged\u2026 become a more careful and timid traveler. No longer \u2013 the carefree and footloose bachelor \u201cmendicant poet\u201d, as Spalding Gray, once called himself, in his infamous \u201cSwimming to Cambodia\u201d monologue. How I\u2019m no longer the vagrant\/tramp\/wanderer, improvising my way around the world from town to town, calling \u201chome\u201d wherever I rest my head, as I liked to do throughout my risky and itinerant \u201ce-travels\u201d, all around our beautiful and lonely planet for so many years.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"Confessions$
The \u201cManalu-Trules\u201d en San Miguel de Allende, 2022<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
No, now I\u2019ve been a \u201cfamily man\u201d, ever since I brought Surya here from Indonesia on August 3, 2001, and Exsel here on May 5, 2015. I became a husband on Valentine\u2019s Day, 2003, and a father on July 6, 2016. Two things I never wanted, or expected, to become. I don\u2019t travel alone anymore, I travel as a threesome. And even that\u2019s been severely tested because\u2026 it took Exsel SIX YEARS to get his Green Card\u2026 which meant he couldn\u2019t leave the country safely\u2026 and be guaranteed re-entry\u2026 without \u201cpermanent residency\u201d. In fact, he entered America on a simple \u201ctourist visa\u201d in 2015, which quickly expired after two months, and he was actually an \u201cillegal alien\u201d in the eyes of US immigration (USCIS) for almost all of those same six years, who could have been deported at any time! Turns out that my international \u201crisk-taking\u201d was not with banditos in Mexico or drug smugglers in the poppy fields of the \u201cGolden Triangle\u201d of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, but more with the Department of Homeland Security right in my own back yard.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**There was one exception in late 2018 where I was invited to teach theater in Moscow in the middle of the white Russian winter.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
$\"Trules$ *Trules in Red Square, Moscow, 2018<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n*
I went alone for just about two weeks. I flew the family coup and somehow, they managed just fine without \u201cPak Trules\u201d (silent \u201ck\u201d, that\u2019s what Exsel and Surya call me at home), for a fortnight. I WhatsApp-ed them from the Moscow hotel, and walked through the heavy falling, wet snow, as I tramped around the beautiful city and crossed golden-lit Moskva River, stood in Red Square next to Lenin\u2019s mausoleum, while having no idea at the time, that in 2022, Mr. Putin would march 100,000 Russian troops into my grandparents\u2019 native Ukraine in a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"Guanajuato$
Guanajuato 2022<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
But back to this trip south of the border, and how this one time, vagabond traveler, yours Trulesly, literally found himself tripping over himself, both on his way \u2013 to San Miguel \u2013 and back. That is, tripping \u2013 physically psychologically, and metaphorically. Let me explain\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n
First, I have to let you know\u2026 that even in the past\u2026 that every time, before an international trip\u2026 to \u201cparts unknown\u201d\u2026. I\u2019ve worried and fretted. It\u2019s who I am. I\u2019m a life-long worrier. It comes in the family. My father was also an expert and life-long worrier. The name of his C-47 plane, of which he was sergeant\/mechanic-in-charge during WW2 was \u201cThe Worry Wart\u201d. The name was painted on the side of the fuselage. \u201cWorry Wart\u201d. It meant my father worried about absolutely everything that could go wrong with the plane\u2026 so nothing would\u2026 keeping the crew worry-free\u2026 or at least as much as a crew could be in the middle of a world war.<\/strong><\/p>\n
I inherited the worry gene from my Dad. Along with his nightmares. Every night, I wake up in extreme anxiety. On the verge of annihilation. Destruction Pending doom and disaster. From nightmares as vivid as hell. Then just as quickly, they\u2019re lost and forgotten by morning\u2019s consciousness. Except\u2026 they\u2019re translated into daytime\u2026 worry. \u201cI don\u2019t have enough money to retire on.\u201d \u201cMy son will be deported.\u201d \u201cMy cancer will come back.\u201d \u201cMy wife will leave me.\u201d Translated to travel: \u201cI don\u2019t have the right documents.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll miss my plane.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll get sick over there.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll never get home.\u201d You get the point. I\u2019m a worrier.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Then once I get on the plane\u2026 forgetaboutit. I\u2019m in the flow. I\u2019m Mr. Improvisation. No plans. No worries. \u201cNo reservations\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**So naturally, going to San Miguel, my first international family trip with Exsel and Surya \u2013 all three of us together \u2013 for the first time ever- was a worry ordeal.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And then\u2026 the universe cooperated.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Wedding$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
You see, we were first supposed to go during Exsel\u2019s Christmas break. We had the plane booked, the Airbnbs booked, our friends of friends in Mexico informed, we were ready to go on New Year\u2019s Day, 2022. Then\u2026 on December 24, 2021, Ho Ho Ho!<\/strong><\/p>\n
I test positive for Covid. But, hell\u2026 we\u2019re still going. I\u2019ll just fly back from San Miguel to Tijuana, and Surya will pick me up there \u2013 or I\u2019ll walk across the border and we\u2019ll drive back from San Ysidro, just south of San Diego on the American side of the border.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**But then\u2026 on December 29, Surya also\u2026 tests positive. Happy New Year!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Exsel can\u2019t pick us up in TJ. Or in San Ysidro. We can\u2019t infect our dogsitter with Covid\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We cancel.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And reluctantly, re-schedule for Easter Break. April 7-17.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I worry some more. But I get new house\/dogsitters. I buy new plane tickets, even though I still haven\u2019t gotten the refund from the first cancelled AeroMexico flight.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And then\u2026 like Chicken Little\u2026 I wait for the sky to fall\u2026. again.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**But\u2026. it doesn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n**
**On April 7, .we Uber to LAX, the Los Angeles international airport, and we take off for Mexico City\u2026 on time.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We arrive\u2026 on time.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Mexican$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Then\u2026 we sit on the plane\u2026 before we deboard\u2026 for almost an hour!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We have to take a shuttle bus from the plane to the terminal. We can\u2019t get on the first shuttle, it\u2019s full. We\u2019re held back for the next one.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019m the third person on the empty shuttle. I step up\u2026 and collapse to my knees. I can\u2019t make the step up. My legs are too weak.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019m bending there on the floor of the bus, seemingly praying, on both knees, with my suitcase in front of me and my backpack behind me.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I think I\u2019ve made a \u201ccool move\u201d, by not falling flat on my face and not losing my four front teeth, but Exsel runs up behind me.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201cYou ok, Pak Trules?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**\u201cYeah, I\u2019m fine,\u201d I say, trying to get up.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**He lifts me up by one arm. Other passengers give me a wide berth, front and back. I get up as gracefully as I can, stow my suitcase on the flat rack nearby, and I take a seat.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I say to myself,<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201cI\u2019m rusty. I\u2019m 74 years old. I haven\u2019t traveled in years.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
\u201c<\/strong> **$\"Trules$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
The shuttle gets us to the terminal. We race through the Mexico City airport, pulling our trolley carts behind us, with our backpacks bouncing on our backs, only to discover that I\u2019ve lost one of our three boarding passes for the connecting flight to Leon, the closest town to San Miguel de Allende.<\/strong><\/p>\n
I keep taking all three of our passports in and out of my iPad shoulder bag for every electronic airport baggage check we go through. Shoes off, belt off, backpack off. I have a titanium right hip, a metal fused thoracic spine. I keep setting off the sensors every time I go through. I\u2019ve packed laundry soap into a too-large plastic pill container. The TPA inspectors insist on searching my both trolley carry-on and backpack.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Boy, am I rusty!<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**We race to the connecting gate. I lead the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201cHurry up, you guys!\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**Nobody\u2019s there. The gate\u2019s empty.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**We\u2019ve missed our flight.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019ve never missed a flight in my life.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Now I have.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I never collapsed into prayer position stepping onto a shuttle bus.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Now I have.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019ve never traveled at 74 years old.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Now I have.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I go to Customer Service and rebook the connecting flight to Leon.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**It\u2019s only two hours later. We\u2019re lucky.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
The only problem is we miss the San Miguel city tour I booked immediately after our Airbnb check in, and our lunch that I booked with John, my first friend of a friend, who was supposed to meet us at La Parroquia\u2019s Jardin right after our\u00a01:30<\/span><\/a>\u00a0tour.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Two strikes against the aging traveler, and we haven\u2019t even gotten to San Miguel. Over-ambitious, man.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Rusty!<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**$\"Garden$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
San Miguel is beautiful. From the minute we check in at our first Airbnb, a traditional, high, red brick-ceilinged, second-floor loft in a beautifully-planted and Mexican art-decorated cobblestone courtyard, with every colorful Mexican-tiled detail and each thoughtful amenity in place, I know \u201cI\u2019m home\u201d. In fact, when I post my first Facebook photos (I admit, I love to share my travels), that\u2019s what my \u201cFriends\u201d say. \u201cYou look right at home.\u201d \u201cWhen are you moving?\u201d \u201cAre you ever coming back to LA?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"Trules$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I\u2019d like to answer: \u201cDone deal. We\u2019re not coming back.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n**
My new SMA friend, John, rents a 1-bedroom here right in the center of town for $300\/month. He knows everything about the town; he\u2019s been here twenty years. After a few years,\u00a0gringos<\/em>\u00a0can get permanent residency, free health care, you don\u2019t need a car, things cost a fraction of what they do in LA. There are bi-lingual, international schools with tons of American, English-speaking kids, everything here has been groomed and honed for an easy ex-pat transition: rental, real estate purchase, health care, child-rearing\u2026 why not just take the leap?<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"The$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
Well, as I said before, I\u2019m a threesome now. There are two other family members to consider, Surya and Exsel. Surya likes her easy ability to get a job in LA. She couldn\u2019t work in a restaurant in San Miguel, she doesn\u2019t speak Spanish. And although she\u2019d jump right in to learn, she\u2019s just \u201cnot ready\u201d to jump across the border right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n
And Exsel? He says, \u201cSure, Pak Trules, move to Mexico. Just wait until I graduate high school.\u201d Meaning\u2026 he likes Eagle Rock High School, and his friends there, right where he is. He doesn\u2019t want to move either.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"Exsel$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
So I have to consciously \u2013 rear my horses \u2013 and stop all my natural urges and instincts \u2013 to interview every\u00a0gringo<\/em>\u00a0I meet \u2013 to grill them on their transition. Their move across\u00a0de border<\/em>. To assemble a working portfolio on all the things I mention above.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**It\u2019s very hard for me to do. To rear myself in. But\u2026 I do.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
And instead, I decide to \u2013 just to enjoy the trip. The visit. We even take another short, two-day jaunt to Guanajuato, a nearby, more Mexican-tourist-friendly town, just about ninety minutes away. Guanajuato is actually the state capital, with the renowned international university, where we stay in another Airbnb loft in a winding back alley in the center of the city, where we are serenaded by a troupe of callejoneada\u00a0<\/em>(student\u00a0mariachis<\/em>), seven times a night, every thirty minutes on the half hour! Very funny and very charming. At least for two nights!<\/strong><\/p>\n
**$\"Fountain$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
We luxury bus it back to San Miguel for $19 for the three of us, and check into another local family-owned, five star Airbnb. This one is a whole traditional-style San Miguel house, 2 floors, two bedrooms upstairs, well-stocked kitchen, comfortable living room & dining room, wet bar downstairs, hand-painted flower-mural walls, air-con. Two amenity-stocked bathrooms. How much? $60\/night! A three-minute cobblestoned walk to La Parroquia and the town square, all the fancy restaurants, all the local churches, street food, mangos, avocados, liquor stores. Surya gets a facial and massage for $30. Exsel gets the same for his 15^{th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday. Ole!<\/strong><\/p>\n}
**$\"\"$ <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
Me? I\u2019m tired. My legs hurt all the time. 24\/7. Just like at home. There are no magical elixirs in San Miguel that will change that. I\u2019ve had this neuropathic pain in my knees and shins ever since 2018 that no battery of doctors has been able to diagnose or treat successfully. They all contradict one another, and not one\u2019s treatment has made a dent of difference. It\u2019s been frustrating and chronically painful. The best relief is\u2026 distraction. Engaging my mind elsewhere. So\u2026 this trip is good. Even worry is good. Anything but \u2013 being aware of the pain \u2013 is good.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
But it\u00a0<\/strong>doesn\u2019t make me much of a hiker or long walker. Sometimes Surya and Exsel have to go exploring on their own.\u00a0No problema.<\/em>\u00a0But I haven\u2019t scheduled many \u201cactivities\u201d for us \u201cto do\u201d once we\u2019ve arrive. For me, that\u2019s okay. I\u2019m perfectly fine soaking up the atmosphere, and taking short walks through the colorful streets. That\u2019s what I travel for \u2013 to be in a different culture. To see and absorb the people, the language, the sights, sounds, smells, food, the music, dancing, the religion. But Surya and Exsel, perhaps they need something more.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**\u201cNext time,\u201d Surya says for the first time ever, \u201cI think I\u2019ll do some of the planning.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
At least, luckily, and unknown to me before we came, we\u2019ve arrived during \u201cSemana Santa\u201d, \u201cThe Week of the Saints\u201d, the holy week of Easter rituals, ceremonies, \u00a0and celebrations. It\u2019s totally wonderful, moving, and amazing. Especially for Surya, who has become a practicing Protestant again of late.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Not only is the whole Catholic city of San Miguel transformed by the story of Mary and Jesus, but thousands of people from all over central Mexico have come flocking into SMA to see and share the week. It begins with \u201cViernes de Dolores<\/em>\u201d, \u201cFriday of Tears\u201d, when the town recreates Mother Mary\u2019s crying for the loss of her Son. And when many many of the private homeowners of San Miguel decorate their homes and open up their courtyards with elaborate religious installations, creating altars to Christ, sometimes with music like Gregorian chant, and offering sweet ices and food treats for as many visitors who want to come. It\u2019s a truly beautiful and memorable day of worship and ceremony. One of a kind in all the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Look at some of the photos:<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Semana$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Eventually, as all trips, visits, adventures, and mis-adventures do\u2026. our journey to San Miguel must end, and we must return\u2026to LA.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2026which we do\u2026 mostly uneventfully\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2026with no missed connections\u2026 no lost boarding passes\u2026 and no more trips onto shuttle busses.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Although I do still worry as much as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Sombrero$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**I realize that \u201cin the end\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u201c\u2026the love you take\u2026.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Nope. Wrong song book!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
I realize, that although old Pak Trules may not be quite as sprite and spry on his feet as he once was, and although he (I) may every once and a while\u2026 miss a plane connection\u2026. or fall to my knees in prayer on a connecting shuttle bus at an airport,<\/strong><\/p>\n
**Let\u2019s hope that this is not my last international trip.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Even if I am heading to the hospital in two days for a little surgical procedure to hopefully help out my aching knees and shins,<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**And even if\u2026 I have to fly on six legs \u2013 including four of my wife\u2019s and son\u2019s, in addition to the two of my own<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**\u2013 from now on\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Senor$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**May the force (of life) be with you!<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**-Senor (South of the Border) Trules<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**$\"Exsel$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Special thanks to:<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Jann Lee, my sister, Alison\u2019s, friend, for hosting us in Guanajuato,<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Julieta Sanchez Garduno<\/a>, in San Miguel, our wonderful \u00a0Servas<\/a>\u00a0host<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**John Morrow<\/a>, our bohemian and artful new friend in SMA<\/strong><\/p>\n**
**<\/p>\n**
**$\"San$ <\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Go To Trules\u2019 home website\u00a0****HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Visit his Welcome Travel\u00a0PODCAST HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Visit his Travel Blog\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n**
**Visit his Personal Blog, \u201cTrules Rules\u201d,\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"**
Sorry, amigos, 1- If you\u2019re getting this story a second time, once previously from another mailing list.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Lo siento.\u00a0(I\u2019m sorry.) If so, please email me back, so I can remove your name one time from this new mailing list. Or if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[65,1178,965],"tags":[1175,669,801,1177,912,1176],"class_list":["post-4170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-etravels","category-mexico-2022-san-miguel-de-allende","category-podcast","tag-guanajuato","tag-mexico","tag-san-miguel-de-allende","tag-semana-santa","tag-travel","tag-viernes-de-dolores"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4170"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4180,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170\/revisions\/4180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erictrules.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}